Congress chimes in: The Tipline for 17 April 2019

US lawmakers play no direct role in the merger approval process, but they sure can bring attention to a matter. Usually, those deals tend to already be sent for review before regulators at the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice. However, last week, Democrats questioned whether a pair of prospective mergers would harm competition before any agreement had been reached on a deal. As Democrats continue to call for stricter antitrust enforcement, companies may have to be increasingly wary of winning over the competition-conscious members of the public in addition to the enforcers on Pennsylvania Avenue.